Building Capacity in the Blood Tribe

The project has received the sanction of the Blood Tribe Spiritual Advisors and Mookaakin Foundation and was designed to provide a substantial benefit to the Blood Tribe. A major portion of this benefit was assisting in the building of the capacity of tribal members to manage their lands and wildlife.

Blood Tribe trainees were schooled in the scientific theory, techniques and methods used in collection, storage and use of habitat and biological data. This was done in a classroom and field setting with actual field work being carried out by trainees under the supervision of qualified biologists. Individuals were able to continue with this work and support the activities of the Blood Tribe in their land and wildlife management activities.

The first component of this phase was the identification of candidates for training with the project. This was done through the Kainai Studies program of Red Crow College. The individuals identified had some basic training in biology or environmental management at Red Crow College, technical school or university. It was anticipated that the individuals would already be enrolled in such a program and that this training was to be used to supplement their educational work or that their intention was to enroll in such a program. A minimum of two individuals were selected for training. 

Training had a classroom and field component. The classroom component was carried out over a period of two weeks and was conducted at CEI. CEI prepared a set of training materials for the course which included:

• Habitat Evaluation Theory

• Wildlife and Plant Census Theory

• Legal implications of projects (Endangered species, CEAA, etc.)

• Wildlife and Plant Census Methods

• Radio Telemetry for Monitoring

• GPS theory and use

• GIS theory and use

• Non-invasive Wildlife Monitoring Techniques

• Data Management Techniques

• Data Analysis Techniques

• Data Reporting Techniques

• Safety in the Field

The class room sessions were designed to provide the information and training necessary for the trainees to function efficiently in the field. They were then equipped to take responsibility for actual data collection, storage and compilation for sections of the project. During the field work the educational component was continued through systematic review of their performance and upgrading of their skills where necessary through one-on-one instruction by the scientific supervisor of the project. 

This phase provided both paid employment for Blood Tribe students and field work experience in the field of environmental management whilst contributing to the efforts of the Swift Fox Reintroduction Program.